CARDIO VS WEIGHT TRAINING: WHICH ONE IS BETTER FOR FAT LOSS?

When overweight individuals get motivated to lose weight to make their lifestyle healthy and go to the gym, they often think that they will have to spend a lot of boring time on the treadmill, which sucks.

If you look into the research performed, you may change your thoughts.

WEIGHT LOSS VS FAT LOSS

Before discussing, we should understand the difference between weight loss and fat loss.

Weight loss means a decrease in weight on a scale (kgs, lbs, oz, e.t.c) which may include water weight, lean muscle mass, the weight of bones, or weight of some waste material and food in your body.

In contrast, fat loss means an actual decrease in total body fat percentage (which causes severe health conditions). So people should not be concerned about weight loss on the scale but about decreasing body fat percentage accompanied by increased lean muscle mass.

PHOTO BY WILLIAM CHOQUETTE FROM PEXELS

CALORIES BURNED PER SESSION

According to health.gov, the number of calories burned per exercise depends on a person’s total weight.

A person with a weight of 154 lbs or more burns more calories with the same effort than someone with a lesser weight.

Regarding calories burned per session, cardio often gets better than weight training. For Example, a person jogging at a pace of 5mph burns 590 calories, while a weight training session for the same amount of time burns only 440 calories.

BOOST IN RESTING METABOLISM RATE

Although cardio burns more calories, weight training increases the resting metabolism rate. According to PubMed, resistance or weight training for nine months or more increases the resting metabolism rate by 5% on average.

Thus, weight training ultimately allows one to burn more calories throughout the day.

SOURCE OF ENERGY

Cardio is aerobic in terms of source of energy. On the other hand, weight training is anaerobic, which utilizes stored glycogen as an energy source. When one runs short of it, it utilizes fat mass as a source of energy most people want.

On the contrary to this, cardio can burn both fat mass and muscle mass. Due to this, it is often called a muscle destroyer in bodybuilders, and they often avoid too much cardio.

ADVANTAGES OF CARDIO

Cardio also has specific positive effects on a person’s health. Cardio improves the health of the heart and lungs. Cardio increases the heart muscles’ strength, allowing the heart to pump blood efficiently.

Thus, one must include cardio in the daily exercise routine for a healthy heart and increased respiratory efficiency.

BENEFITS OF WEIGHT TRAINING

Weight training by decreasing the percentage of total body fat and increasing lean muscle mass improves the body image. According to SagePub, by participating in a three-day per week weight training program, middle-aged women developed better body image than those involved in a three-day per week walking program.

There is no alternative to weight training when it comes to muscle development.

Small weights with more reps appear to improve endurance, while larger weights with lesser reps increase strength.

MULTIPLE EXERCISES PROGRAM

Since each type of workout has unique advantages, one should include both in their workout routine.

Cardio is excellent in a fasting or glycogen-depleted state when the body runs out of energy sources, so it utilizes only body fat as an energy source.

The body is often in glycogen depleted state after weight training, so one should do weight training first, followed by cardio in the daily workout program.

DIET AND SLEEP

It doesn’t matter how much the person exercise; he wouldn’t be able to lose body unless he eats in a caloric deficit. The proportion of carbs in the diet should be reduced so that it may not cause an insulin spike which leads to fat storage in the body.

Sleep is also crucial for fat loss. It allows the body to release hormones to recover destroyed muscles during exercise. Sleep also controls the appetite and thus leading decreased intake of calories.

CONCLUSION

So, when it comes to cardio vs weight training for fat loss or belly fat, one should do both at specific proportions. The workout should be accompanied by a diet rich in protein and healthy fats.